Fire damage
in Pará state, Brazil. Tropical forests can
contain a very large number of tree species in a
small area, so there is serious loss of genetic
resources from their destruction.
(FAO/15891/G.Bizzarri)

Forest genetic resources must be conserved
-- and the biggest threat to them is the loss of the
forest itself. That is the view of the FAO Panel of Experts
on Forest Gene Resources, which met recently in Rome.

Forests face a wide range of threats, from the
degradation caused by fires to the deforestation resulting
from encroachment by agriculture. These not only threaten
the forest as a productive resource but may reduce the
number of species, especially in tropical areas where many
tree species may be found in a small area.

The Panel also reiterated the importance of maintaining a
high level of genetic diversity to ensure healthy tree
populations. And it noted the need for institutions to
collaborate on the conservation and exchange of genetic
materials.

The Panel, established in 1968, meets every two years. It
reports on the state of forest genetic resources and makes
recommendations for their conservation and use. Its 15
members have expertise in a wide variety of forest
environments and are from an equally wide range of cultural,
linguistic and regional backgrounds. They don't represent
their countries -- they are independent and eminent in their
field.

The Panel's full report, which will be published early in
2002, will also highlight the following points:

Wide genetic diversity is a prerequisite for healthy
forests.

Many countries need assistance in assessing forest
biodiversity, including the diversity of species and
variations within species.

Contacts and exchange of genetic materials between
countries should be encouraged.

Modern biotechnology may have potential for more
productive forestry, but it should not consume a
disproportionate share of research resources -- or
discourage the use in breeding programmes of the immense
diversity that already exists in natural forests.

New opportunities for forest protection and
management are needed. (This might include funding
opportunities under the Clean Development Mechanism of
the Kyoto Protocol, which will help pay for action that
offsets carbon emissions -- which forests do.)

Up-to-date information is important, and development
of the FAO information system on forest genetic
resources, including REFORGEN, should continue.

In addition to information management, FAO's forestry
work includes assistance to countries to better assess and
manage genetic resources and support to specific programmes
and species.

Why conserve forest genetic resources?"The lay person might wonder why forest genetic
resources are important," says the Panel's Secretary,
Christel Palmberg-Lerche of FAO. "Isn't one type of fern or
poplar pretty much like another? Some people also argue that
there is no need for active conservation measures, and claim
that diversity will survive if people refrain from
destroying it."

But diversity is important because the potential of many
plants -- for wood and other products such as medicine -- is
still largely unexplored. And genetic variation within
species is important because growth and resistance to
stresses such as harsh weather and disease depend on such
variation. Tree populations that are genetically uniform
won't grow as well over the varying environments that
forests occupy and will face more difficulty in evolving to
cope with changing environments. Intensive breeding
encourages uniformity, so a reservoir of new genes needs to
be constantly available to meet new problems.

If attention is not paid to managing this reservoir, it
may also be threatened by the natural evolution of forest
ecosystems. In places like Brazil, home to as many as 400
tree species per hectare, the fitness and pattern of a
forest is therefore especially important to conserving
diversity.

Nothing in nature is static. An old growth forest is not
stable or permanent, but one in which certain species have
triumphed -- to the detriment of many others.

Losing habitatsSeveral Panel members pointed out examples of the
threats facing forests:

Encroachment by agriculture

Catastrophic events such as fire, drought and severe
frost

Pests and diseases

Invasive species.

"It is hard to quantify and monitor changes in
biodiversity, including genetic diversity," says Pierre
Sigaud, FAO expert on forest genetic resources. "The extent
of forest area doesn't tell us everything." For example,
plantations might replace natural forest, reducing species
diversity. But by reducing logging pressures on the
remaining natural forest, they may promote as much diversity
as they destroy.

Even where parts of the natural forest are lost to
agriculture, the genetic loss will depend on the extent of
fragmentation of the remaining forest -- if it has been
broken into small islands, species may be in small groups
and therefore could fall below critical mass and eventually
disappear.

"Factors like that don't respect borders," says Dr
Sigaud. "The advantage of the Panel is that it works across
them. And that makes it all the more unique and
important."